German Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not yet believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to negotiate a "just world" in Ukraine.
He stated this on Thursday during a speech in the Bundestag dedicated to the war in Ukraine.
"Is Putin even ready for negotiations regarding the return of these principles and a just world? At the moment, nothing indicates this," the German chancellor believes.
Rather, Putin relies on threatening gestures, such as suspending the nuclear deal with the United States, Scholz added.
Former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt spoke about the principle of "balanced reciprocity", taking into account the Helsinki process of the 1970s - but this is out of the question while Putin threatens the existence of Ukraine and at the same time the foundations of the European world order, the chancellor noted.
"You can't negotiate with a gun held to your temple - except for your own humility," Scholz said.
It is all the more remarkable that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, presented proposals for a strong, just world at the G20 summit in November, Scholz added.
On the anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Scholz pledged to support Ukraine as long as necessary and called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war.